Sail
by ChessieKittie
Summary: Angels lie and aren't real. I blame it on my own sick pride. Maybe I should cry for help. Maybe I should kill myself. Maybe I'm not listening. Maybe I'm a different breed. This is how an angel dies.
1. Danielle Singer

Name: Danielle Singer

Hair: Strawberry Blonde, Waist-Length, Loose Curls

Eyes: Emerald Green

Height: 5'8

Personality: Optimistic, Intelligent, Stubborn, Loyal, Playful

Hobbies: Reading, Watching Movies, Listening to Music, Sleeping (?)

Brief History: On March 22nd, 1981 Danielle Maria Singer is born. Her mother, Karen Singer, is ecstatic, albeit worn out. Her father, Robert 'Bobby' Singer is in a state of shock and silent denial, until he holds Danielle for the first time. As he stares at the bundle in his arms, slowly, but surely, the worst of his worries start slipping away.

Approximately a year later, Karen is possessed, and goes after her daughter. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Bobby arrives just in time to save the infant from being hurt, and ends up killing his wife. Shortly after, Bobby is introduced to Rufus, who in turn introduces him to 'hunting'. Life on the road wasn't easy with an infant, or a child in general, but somehow Bobby managed it. During the day, Danielle was dropped of at day-cares, and at night she was in a hotel room with either Bobby or Rufus, mainly the former.

At the age of five, when most children were going to school for the first time, Danielle could be found in a local library, reading. She read both fiction and non-fiction books, sometimes doing research for Bobby when he was 'hunting' and couldn't figure out what it was. John Winchester, and many other concerned adults, brought to Bobby's attention that Danielle should be going to school. One night, he sat down and had a serious talk with his daughter. She had decided that she was perfectly fine just going to the library and reading, when a parent or librarian would get involved, the girl would say she was getting an education because she read _everything, _when tested to see if the statement was true, everyone would back off. The girl was smart and already past her recommended grade level as the years grew.

After meeting Sam and Dean Winchester, the three quickly becomes friends, and eventually the boys thought of her as family, and she, them. More often than not, Danielle could be seen helping _both _boys with their History and English homework, whether she was next to them, or on the didn't matter if the three children were in the same room, or in completely different states, they talked daily.

In her teen years, Bobby _officially_ taught Danielle how to fight, hot to hunt the supernatural, and how to sneak around quietly. Her often referring to it as 'ninja training'. Bobby also taught her how to translate several different languages, i.e. Latin, Spanish, German, and Japanese. On her own, Danielle had learned how to speak French, and with some help was learning Greek.


	2. The Lazarus Ring

On September 18, 2006, Dean Winchester was dragged out of the pits of Hell. To him, one minute he was in Hell, the next he woke up inside a coffin. Disoriented, and choking, he dug himself out. As Dean looks around, eyes adjusting to the sunlight, there's nothing but a cross marking the spot, around him is a perfect circle of dead trees, as if an unearthly, powerful blast had fallen upon them.

Through hazy heat Dean walks down an empty road and stumbles upon a gas station. He bangs on the door, hoping someone was there, but didn't get an answer. He rolls up his outer shirt over his right and breaks the glass in the door. Once inside he grabs a water bottle from a fridge, and gulps it down, soothing the ache in his throat. Looking around, Dean spots a newspaper and reads the date, Sept. 18.

"September?" He whispers.

In the bathroom of the gas station Dean washes his face off, he looks up and catches his reflection. Frowning, Dean pulls the hem of his black t-shirt p, exposing his chest. A memory flits through his mind, gone as soon as it was there. He stares at his chest, than turns his hand so his left shoulder is in view of the mirror. He pulls his sleeve up and exposes the raw hand-print on it.

Back in the main room of the gas station, Dean pulls snacks, energy bars, and water off the shelf and stores them in a plastic bag. He stops in front of a magazine stand, a grin spreading across his face. On the stand is Dean's favorite magazine, _Busty Asian Beauties. _He picks the magazine up, and smirks, flipping through it, than stores that in the bag as well. Dean walks behind the counter, presses a button on the cash register, his smirk growing when it pops open. As he counts the cash, the T.V. flicks on, showing nothing but static. He shuts it off only for the radio on his right to turn on white noise. Not wasting another moment, he grabs a carton of salt and begins pouring it along the window sills. A high-pitched single tone begins, causing Dean to clutch at his left ear with pain as he continues to pour the salt with his right hand. As the noise continues, Dean drops the salt and clutches his other ear, groaning in pain. The window above his head, as Dean drops to the floor. He hops to his feet, trying to leave, as more glass above and around him shatters. The noise stops, slowly removing his hands from his head, Dean looks around cautiously.

Outside, Dean found a phone both and dialed a number. Expecting to his brother pick, he gets a shock when told the number has been disconnected. Dean hangs up, puts in another coin, and dials another number. It rings once, than a tired, female voice picks it up.

_"Hello?" _Dean smiles in slight relief.

"Danny?"

_"Yeah?"_

"It's me," Dean says.

_"Me, who?" _

"Dean." There's the sound of shuffling, then a dial tone starts up. Dean hangs up, then dials again.

_"Listen, I don't know what you're trying to do, but whatever it is, I'm not laughing." _Dean makes a pained face, the voice on the phone was the same one from earlier, only this time, she sounds upset.

"Danny, please, I'm telling you it's me." Once again there's a shuffling noise, instead of getting a dial tone like he expected, a male voice answers him.

_"Call again, I'll kill ya." _The dial tone follows quickly after. Dean sighs and looks around, spotting an old, beat-up car. His eyes light up, walks over, and quickly hot-wires the car.

Dean pulls into a more than familiar drive way, smiling as he reads the sign. _Singer Salvage Yard,_ also known as _Singer Auto Repair Shop,_ in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He parks the car in an empty space, and gets out. He walks up the steps, stands on the porch, and knocks on the door. The door opens to reveal on older man, a baseball cap on his head, and unbuttoned flannel over a grey t-shirt. The man was Bobby Singer, Danny's father, who raised the little girl from birth, all the while hunting.

"Surprise," says Dean, a cheesy grin on his face.

"I, I don't..." trails of Bobby.

"Yeah, me neither," Dean steps in, taking a quick glance around to see of he could spot his brother, Sam, or Danny. "Here I am." From behind his back, Bobby grabs a silver knife, eyeing Dean the whole time. As Dean takes another step forward, Bobby lunges, slashing the knife. Eyes wide, Dean grabs Bobby's arm and twist it. Bobby breaks the grip and backhands, hitting Dean in the face.

"Whoa, Bobby! It's me!" Dean says as he shoves a chair between himself and the older man. "Wait!" Dean shouts, as Bobby takes a step forward. "Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed and raised your daughter on your own and... you're the closest thing to a father I have. Bobby, it's me." Bobby lowers the knife, steps forward slowly, and places a hand gently on Dean's shoulder. Suddenly, he slashes again, but Dean quickly subdues and disarms him. "I'm not a shapeshifter!"

"Then you're a Revenant!" Dean shoves Bobby away, having taken the knife from him. Dean holds it out, but makes sure Bobby can't easily get it.

"Alright, if I was either, could I do this-with a silver knife?" Dean rolls up his left sleeve, grimacing, he slices his arm above the elbow with the knife. A line of blood appears.

"Dean?" ask Bobby,

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Dean says with a roll of his eyes. Glancing around again, he starts to ask a question. "Where are-"

"What's with all the noise?" asked a female voice, as Doc Marten clad feet made an appearance on the stairs. The girl kept grumbling to herself, and stopped on the final step before entering the hallway, her green eyes were wide with shock. She looked to Bobby, her gaze full of unwilling hope. Bobby gave a nod, answering her unasked question. With a squeal she jumped off the step, and tackled Dean, knocking him into the wall. Her arms wrapped around his neck, Dean gave a breathless laugh, and wrapped his arms around her waist. The girl pulled back, green eyes meeting green eyes. A smile was on the girl's lips, she went to say something but was interrupted when both her and Dean were splashed with water. They looked at the older man as he gives a sheepish smile.

"I'm not a demon either Bobby," Dean says as he wipes his face off.

Dean ruffles the girl's strawberry blonde hair, earning a huff from her as she crosses her arms. Before he can do anything else, the girl once again trapped him in a hug. "I missed you Dean."

"Missed you too Danny." Bobby cleared his throat, pulling Dean and Danielle's attention to him. With a small smile on is face, he spoke.

"As much as I _love_ to see this, I'm going to have to break your hug fest up." With a roll of her eyes, Danielle stepped back with a smile on her face, Dean kept his arm on the girl's shoulder, a similar smile playing on his face as well. "It's greet to see you boy, but how did you get out?" Dean's smile fell, getting replaced by a look of confusion. Cocking her head curiously, Danielle raised an eyebrow at Dean, wondering the same thing.

"I don't know, I just woke up in a pine box." The trio goes further into the house, heading towards the kitchen.

"That don't make a lick of sense," Bobby stated.

"Doesn't Dad, _doesn't_ make sense," said Danielle automatically correcting him. Bobby rolled his eyes at his daughter, having gotten to used to it over the years.

"Yeah, you're preaching to the choir." Bobby grabbed three bears from the fridge, Danielle hopping up on the counter, her legs dangling, as Dean leaned back next to her. Bobby couldn't help the smile that came to his face watching them, even though Dean died four months ago, the two were still in sync with each other, just like they were growing up, he handed them a beer each.

"Dean, you were _ripped to shreds_, and you've been dead for _four_ months. Even if you could have slipped out, you'd have-" Dean interrupted Danielle.

"Yeah, I know. I would look like a reject for a 'Thriller' video." This brought a smile to her face. Usually Danielle would have protested loudly and/or smacked Dean for interrupting her, but right now, she didn't particularly care.

"What do you remember?" asked Bobby.

"Not much. I remember being a Hellhound's chew toy, and then... lights out. Then I come too six feet under, that was it." Bobby sits at the kitchen table, as Danielle eyes Dean, suspecting he was lying, but not calling him on it. She figured she'd corner him later, and get the answer then. "Sam's number isn't working, he isn't? Is he?" Danielle let out an annoyed groan at Dean mentioning Sam. Dean raised an eyebrow at the girl next to him, there was a scowl on her face, then looked to Bobby. "Am I missing something?"

"As far as I know, he is alive," Bobby stated with a shrug.

"Great... Wait what do you mean 'as far as you know'?"

"Haven't talked to him in months," muttered Danielle.

"You're kidding? You let him go off on his own?"

"He was dead set on it, even disconnected his number after Danny tracked him down."

"Bobby, you should have been looking after him," said Dean. Danielle huffed, blowing some of her hair out of her face.

"I tried, these last few months haven't been exactly easy, you know, for any of us, we had to bury you."

"Why did you bury me, anyway?" Dean asked.

"Dad and I wanted to do it the usual way. You know, salt and burn, but Sammy wouldn't have it," answered Danielle

"Well, I'm glad he won that argument."

"He said you'd need a body when he got you back somehow. That's all he said about it," replied Bobby.

"What do you mean?" asked Dean, his suspicions rising. Danielle shrugged as Bobby answered.

"He got quiet, real quiet, and then he just took off. Wouldn't return our calls, Danny tried tracing his cellphone, it worked for about five minutes, then we lost him."

"Oh dammit Sammy"

"What?" Both Singers asked.

"He got me out okay, but whatever it was, was bad mojo."

"What makes you so sure?" questioned Danielle. Dean showed them the hand-print on his left shoulder, a gasped escaped Danielle's mouth, Dean nodded at her grimly.

"You should have seen the grave site, it's like a nuke went off, and there was... this force, this presence, I don't know, but it blew past me at a fill-up joint. It's like a demon yanked me out. Or rode me out."

"But why?" questioned Bobby.

"To hold up their end of a bargain," said Dean with a shrug as he tugged his jacket back on.

"You think he made a deal with a demon?" whispered Danielle, hoping like hell that wasn't true.

"It's what I would have done." With a slight glare, Danielle punched Dean's arm. He gave a shocked look as he rubbed the area.

"Damn Danny, that actually hurt." As an after thought he added,"What was that for?"

"What is it with you Winchesters and making deals with demons to save each other. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but Jesus Christ, the least any of you could do is think of the reciprocation of this shit." Dean gave a small laugh as he listened to the girl, he cut her off before she could go into full rant mode though.

"Here, I'll make a few phone calls and try to locate him, 'kay?" he asked, Danielle gave a huff, but nodded her head. "Go get your laptop, and pull up the internet." He watched Danielle hop of the counter and leave the kitchen, heading to her bedroom upstairs. Dean glanced at Bobby and asked, "How she doing?"

Bobby snorted and said,"As good as she can be, the poor girl lost both her best friends at the same time. Even though Sam didn't die, he might as well have, and I'm going to kick his ass when we find him." Dean raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips.

"Yeah, why's that?"

"'Cause after he left she looked like he just shot her puppy, ripped out her heart than stomped on it." Dean blinked, processing Bobby's words, then swore himself.

"Dammit Sammy,-"

"As much as I would love to continue cursing Sam, let's try finding his ass first." Dean nodded at the girl as she appeared in the door way. Following her to Bobby's office/library, Dean grabbed a spare phone off Bobby's wall and dialed the phone company as Danielle seated herself at the desk, and pulled the internet on her sticker-covered laptop up.

"Yeah, hi, I have a cell phone account with you guys, and uh, I lost my phone. Was wondering if you could turn the GPS on for me." Dean paused listening to the voice on the phone, writing down a few things. "Yeah, name's Wedge Antilles." Pause. "Social is 2-7-4-7." Another pause. "Thank-you." Dean hangs up the phone and leans over Danielle, watching her type in the address he wrote down.

"How'd you know he'd use that name?" asked Bobby, watching Dean and Danielle.

"You kidding me? What don't I know about that kid?" Dean asked, making Danielle snort. Dean glances around and picks up one of the many beer bottles scattered around. "Hey Bobby? What's the deal with the liquor store? What, are your parents out-of-town or something?" This caused a smile to come to Danielle's face, most of her concentration on the screen in front of her.

"Like I said, last few months hadn't been easy." Dean holds Bobby's gaze for a moment then sighs, Danielle interrupted before anything else could be said.

"Got him," she said, and read the address off. "263 Adams Road, Pontiac, Illinois."

"Right near where you were planted," Bobby clarified.

"Right where I popped up. Hell of a coincidence, don't you think?" asked Dean as Danielle nodded her head. Danielle shut her laptop and grabbed a jacket, Bobby grabbed the keys to a car, and the trio walked out the door, Dean locking it behind him.

The trio arrived at Astoria Motel hours later, Dean questioned the receptionist about Sam, and found he was in room 207. They walk down a dingy hallway, Dean's arm thrown over Danielle's shoulder, just in case any shady people should come by. Danielle lets out a snort when she see the number 207 inside a heart on the door. Removing his arm from around her shoulder, Dean knocks on the door, expecting Sam to open the door, not a woman about their age, with tanned skin, dark hair, and clad in nothing but her underwear and a tank-top, she looks at them expectantly.

"So, where is it?"

Cocking her head to the side, a confused expression on her face, Danielle ask, "Where's what?"

The girl raises an eyebrow and says, "The pizza... that took three of you to deliver?"

"I think we got the wrong room," Dean says. That's when Sam steps out of the bathroom, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, his face grim.

"Hey is.." Sam trails off, having spotted Dean. He swallows, shocked, his eyes flickered over to Danielle and Bobby

"Heya Sammy," Dean whispers, wanting to say more, but can't at the same time. Dean steps into the room, ignoring the woman, his sole focus is his brother, the woman steps aside to let them in. When Dean is close enough, Sam pulls out a knife and slashes it at Dean. The woman screams as Dean blocks the attack. Bobby grabs Sam around his shoulders as Danielle pushes Dean back. Putting herself between the brothers, Danielle did so knowing Sam would at least hesitate to attack with her in the way.

"Who are you?" shouts Sam, trying to break Bobby's hold on him.

"Like you didn't do this?" Dean shouts back.

"Do what?" Danielle gives an eye-roll, clearly the brothers weren't on the same page.

"Sam, it's him. I've been through this already, it's really him," Bobby tells Sam. Sam stares as the struggle slowly leaves his body. He glances back at Bobby, then at Danielle, silently asking her if it were true. She gave a small smile and nodded her head. Dean, deciding to ease the tension, makes a witty remark.

"I know, I look fantastic, huh?" Bobby lets go of Sam, as Danielle eases out Dean's way, the Singers allowing the Winchesters to reunite. With tears in eyes, Sam pulls Dean into a tight hug. Bobby throws an arm over Danielle's shoulder, pressing her against him, smiling as tears come to his eyes, an identical expression on his daughter. Slowly, Sam pulls back to stare at Dean, still in arm's reach of each other.

"So, are you together or something?" Four set of eyes turn to look at the women, having forgotten she was there. Sam blinks and shakes his head before answering.

"No, no. He's my brother."

"Oh," the woman says confused, "I should probably get going."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Sorry," Sam says. The woman quickly grabs a pair of jeans puts them on, and grabs a blue plaid shirt, pulling that on over her tank, glancing around she finds her shoes and puts those on. Sam opens the door for her, after she's ready to leave.

"So, um, call me?"

Nodding his head, Sam says, "Sure thing, Kathy."

A frown crossed her face as she corrected him, "Kristy." Sam nods, and closes the door behind her. He turns around to see Dean and Bobby with a stern face, and Danielle with an eyebrow cocked curiously. Sam raises one in turn, causing Danielle to mouth, 'we'll talk later'.

"So Sam, tell me. What'd it cost?"

"The girl? I don't pay Dean," Sam said smiling.

Rolling his eyes, Dean replied,"That's not funny Sam. What'd it cost to bring me back? Your soul? Or something worse?"

Cocking his head to the side, a confused expression on his face, Sam said,"You think I did this?"

"That's exactly what we think," replied Bobby.

"Well, I didn't."

"Don't lie to me,' growled Dean.

"I'm not lying."

"So what? I'm off the hook and you're some demon's bitch-boy? I didn't want to be saved like this," Dean says , advancing Sam.

Sam takes a step forward and shouts,"Look Dean, I wish had done it!" A loud 'smack' resounded through out the room when Danielle smacked the back of Sam's head. Everyone blinked at the only girl in room, shocked, not sure what was going through her head. She was glaring at the Winchester boys, shook her head, sighed then turned and walked out of the hotel room. The three men shared confused glances then shook their heads and went back to the conversation at hand. While the boys finished talking Danielle walked outside the motel and pulled her jacket close over her thin Batman sweater, quickly zipping it up.

Danielle leaned against the wall, staring out into the night, wondering what exactly was going on. Not that she wasn't happy about Dean being back, but it was one hell of a miracle, if it could be called that. She couldn't help but feel that something seriously bad was about to happen. Not the usual bad, but post-apocalyptic, Hell on Earth bad. Her melodramatic thoughts cut off when she saw Sam walking towards her.

"Hey," he said, she nodded her head in acknowledgment. "Are you mad at me?" She gave a shrug of her shoulders, not saying anything. Sam's head drooped slightly,"You are mad," he sighed. Danielle looked up at Sam, a smile spreading on her lips when she saw the dejected look on his face.

"Sam," she said, holding her arms out to him. He looked up and smiled, pulling the girl to him. Although silent, the hug seemed to say everything and nothing at same time.

Sam gave one last squeeze as he said,"I missed you."

When Danielle pulled back she said,"Missed you too, Sammy." Sam gave a light chuckle and asked if she wanted to go to the store to pick up some beer with him. Throwing an arm over her shoulder, Sam lead her to the waiting impala. Danielle squealed, ducking out from Sam's arm, ran to passenger side of the car. "Oh, how I've missed this car." Sam gave another chuckle at her childishness.

Sam and Danielle walked into the motel room, a six packet in Sam's hand, smiles on their faces. They were on good terms again. Dean and Bobby sit down on the couch as Sam hands them a beer, then takes a seat beside Danielle.

"So what where you doing around here if you weren't digging me out of my grave?"

"Well, once I figured out I couldn't save you, I started hunting down Lilith, trying to get some payback."

"All by yourself. Who do you think you are, your old man?" Bobby accused. Dean glances around and spots something, He frowns in confusion and crosses the room towards it.

"Uh, yeah, I'm sorry, Bobby, Danny. I should have called. I was pretty messed up." Dean picks up the object he had seen, noting that it's a pink flowered bra, and holds it up.

"Oh yeah. I really feel your pain," said Dean, causing a snicker from Danielle.

"Anyways, uh," said Sam, a slight blush on his cheeks "I was checking these demons out of Tennessee, and out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here."

"When?" asked Dean.

"Yesterday morning."

"When Dean busted out," said Danielle, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

"You think these demons are here 'cause of you?" asked Bobby.

"But why?" questioned Sam.

"Well, I don't know – some badass demon drags me out and now this? It's gotta be connected somehow."

"How you feelin', anyway?"asked Bobby.

"I'm a little hungry," replied Dean.

With a roll of his eyes, Bobby said, "No, I mean, do you feel like yourself? Anything strange, or different?"

"Or demonic? Bobby, how many times do I have to prove I'm me?" Dean rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Yeah. Well, listen. No demon's letting you lose out of the goodness of their hearts. They've gotta have something nasty planned," Bobby grumbled.

"Well, I feel fine," Dean said with a shrug.

"Okay, look, we don't know what they're planning. We got a pile of questions and no shovel. We need help," said Sam.

"I know a psychic. A few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she's heard the other side talking." All three males looked to the only female as she let out a squeal. A smile lighting up her face, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You mean I get to see Pammy?" Danielle asked, practically bouncing in her spot. Bobby nods his head and says 'he'll be right back'. Dean stands to follow Bobby, but Sam stops him.

"Hey, wait," Sam stands up himself, "You probably want this back." Sam reaches inside side his collar and pulls out a leather cord. On the cord is an all to familiar amulet. Sam places it in Dean's hand, Dean stares at it, touched that his brother had kept it.

"Thanks," he says, voice gruff with unsaid emotion.

Sam smiles and says,"Yeah, don't mention it." Dean puts the amulet on as Danielle pops up and ask a question.

"Hey Dean, what was it like?"

"What, Hell? I don't know, I, I must have blacked it out. I don't remember a damn thing." Both Sam and Danielle nod their heads in understanding.

"Well, thank God for that," said Sam.

Bobby leads the boys and Danielle down a set of steps. "She's about four hours down the Interstate. Try to keep up." Bobby gets in his car, Danielle right behind him. Sam and Dean get in the impala and follow after.

Few the first few minutes of the ride, Danielle and Bobby are in a comfortable silence, listening to music on the radio. Bobby glances at Danielle, the turns the radio. Said girl looks at him curiously, wondering what was on his mind.

"So, uh, do I need to kick Sam's ass, or what?" A light-hearted chuckle leaves her smiling lips

"No, Dad, you don't have to kick Sam's ass. We made up, kind of. Either way, there will be no Winchester ass kicking tonight." Bobby nods his head, but doesn't seem pleased by her answer,

"Okay, but the second they do, you'll tell me, right?" Danielle chuckles again and easily agrees. She leans over the center console and gives him a peck on his cheek. 

The group of for stops in front of door, and Bobby knocks on it. A short, plump, black woman opens the door. She is in her thirties, strong and beautiful with a ready smile. Her smile widens when she recognizes Bobby and Danielle

"Bobby!" She grabs him into a hug, lifting him briefly off the ground. Sam and Dean share a look. "Little Danny! Look at you, all grown up!" She then lifted Danielle into a bone-crushing hug.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," states Bobby with a grin. Pamela steps back, looks boys up and down approvingly.

"So, these the boys?"

"Sam, Dean. This is Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state," introduces Bobby.

"Hey," says Dean in a flirtatious way.

"Hi," Sam says feeling slightly awkward.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm. Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual."

"If you say so," Dean gives Pamela a nonchalant shrug.

"Come on in then," says Pamela, making a gesture with her hand. Pamela ushers them in, first Bobby, then Danielle, then Dean, and last, but not least Sam. They all stop and stand in her living room, discussing what they were going to do.

"So, you hear anything?" asked Bobby.

"Well, I Ouija'd my way through a dozen spirits. No one seems to know who broke your boy out, or why," says Pamela with a shrug.

"So what do we do next?" asked Danielle

"A séance, I think. See if we can see who did the deed," answered Pamela.

"You're not gonna... summon the damn thing here," stated Bobby indignantly. Thinking it, whatever 'it' was, was dangerous and not wanting 'it' around his daughter when he has no idea how to fight 'it'.

"No," said Pamela, waving him off. "I just want to get a sneak peek at it. Like a crystal ball without the crystal."

"I'm game,"said Dean with a shrug, glancing around at the others. In another room, Pamela spreads a black tablecloth covered n symbols over a small, round table. Sam and Dean look at it warily as Pamela squats in front of a cupboard, handing several items to Danielle for her to carry. Dean cocks his head when he spots a scrawled tattoo across her lower back that reads: Jesse Forever

"Who's Jesse?" asks Dean

"Well, it wasn't forever," Pamela says before laughing.

"His loss," said Dean with a charming smile, making Danielle roll her eyes. Pamela stands with several jars in her hands, and stops in front of Dean with a smirk.

"Might be your gain." Danielle's eyes widen and she almost drops the jars in her hands out of shock.

"I know those boys are good looking, but damn Pam," whispers Danielle so as not to be heard by anyone else. The older woman merely chuckles in response.

As Pamela passes by Sam, she says, "You're invited too, grumpy."

"You are NOT invited," protest Dean, causing Danielle to laugh as she passes by. Minutes later finds all of them sitting around the table, from left to right, it starts with Pamela, Bobby, Sam, Danielle, and Dean. The table has six lighted candles in the center of it.

"Right. Take each other's hands." Everyone does as asked, without complaint. "And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched." Smirking, Pamela slides her hand along Dean's inner thigh, he jumps, making Danielle chuckle.

"Whoa. Well, he didn't touch me there," says Dean.

Still smirking, Pamela say, "My mistake." Dean glances around nervously, then takes off his outer shirt, pulls up his left t-shirt sleeve to reveal the brand on his upper arm. Sam stares at shocked, then glances at Bobby, then Danielle. Pamela lays her hand on the brand with a small of of her head. "Okay, now close your eyes." Everyone did so, and Pamela began chanting. " I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle." She say this several times, then a television flicks on to static. "I invoke, conjure, and command... Castiel? No. Sorry, Castiel, I don't scare easy."

"Castiel?" Dean ask.

"Its name. It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back." The white noise and static continues as the table begins to shake. Ignoring it all, Pamela continues

As the white noise, static, and rattling continue, Bobby speaks up.

"Maybe we should stop."

"I almost got it," say Pamela, she commands 'Castiel" to show his face once more. Suddenly the flame from the candles flare up several feet in the air, Pamela begins to scream. In an instant Danielle is by her side, trying to calm the older woman down. Her eyes fly open and are filled with a white-hot flame. She collapses; the rattling, white noise, and flames die out.

"Someone call 9-1-1!"shouts Danielle, Bobby on Pamela's other side. Sam scrambles out his chair and into the next room. Dean crouches over Pamela next to Danielle. Luckily, or nor so luckily, she is still conscious, but is bleeding and badly burned. Her eyelids fly open revealing black, empty sockets, Pamela starts sobbing.

"I can't see! I can't see! Oh god!" In the next room they can barely hear Sam calling an ambulance.

Several hours later finds Danielle, having been forced out of the hospital by Bobby, in a Johnny Mac's Diner, Dean sitting beside her, and Sam outside on his cellphone. Dean orders himself and Sam a piece of pie, each. Glancing over at Danielle, he orders her a large chocolate shake. The waitress nods her head, and leaves to place the order. Seconds later Sam comes in and sits across from Danielle and Dean.

"What'd Bobby say?" asked Danielle, leaning forward, worry clear in her voice.

"Pam's stable, and out of I.C.U."

"And blind, because of us," states Dean as Danielle sits back.

"And we still have no clue who we're dealing with," say Sam.

"That's not entirely true," says Danielle absently.

"No?" ask Sam

Dean, catching onto what she meant, answers, "We got a name. Castiel, or whatever. With the right mumbo-jumbo we could summon him, bring him right to us."

"You're crazy. Absolutely not," said Sam, not believing his brother.

"We'll work him over. I mean, after what he did?"

"Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull, and you want to have a face to face?" asked Sam, he turned his gaze to Danielle, hoping to get her to see his point. "Com'on Danny, you can't honestly think this is a good idea, can you? That Castiel burned out Pam's eyes, what do you think would happen to us?" Danielle gave a resigned sigh then glanced at Sam, then stared at Dean.

"He's right, you know. We have no idea what we're up against, why don't we some asking and research before we go in, guns blazing?" Dean rolled his eyes, not particularly liking that answer.

"You got a better idea?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do. I followed some demons to town, right?"

"Okay," said Dean as Danielle nodded.

"So, we go find them. Someone's gotta know something about something." The waitress reappears with two plates of pie and the large shake. She sets them on the table. Danielle grabs the shake after it's set down and takes a sip of it. Absentmindedly Sam says, "Thanks," as the waitress pulls over chair and plops down it. The waitress crosses her arms under her chest and stares expectantly.

"You angling for a tip?" Dean ask with a smirk.

"I'm sorry. Thought you were looking for us," she states. Her eyes go black for a moment, so does a uniformed man's by the counter, and the cook behind it. The uniformed man goes to the door, locks it, and stands in front of it. Her eyes go normal, as she says, "Dean. To hell and back. Aren't you a lucky duck."

"That's me," say Dean. Sam and Danielle glanced around, assessing the situation, plans already forming in their heads.

"So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me. What makes you so special?"

"I like to think it's because of my perky nipples. I don't know. Wasn't my doing, I don't know who pulled me out."

"Right. You don't," she said with an eye-roll.

"No. I don't."

"Lying's a sin, you know."

"I'm not lying. But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, Flo..."

Sitting up she replied, "Mind your tone with me, boy. I'll drag you back to hell myself." Sam who had been staring daggers at her the whole time, shifted as if to attack. Seeing this, Dean holds up a hand, Sam stops and settles back into his seat. Danielle puts an elbow on the table, rest her head in hand, and twist the straw of of her shake with the other hand.

"No, you won't," stated Dean confidently.

"No?" she questions.

"No. Because if you were you would have done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. And you're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers. Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or, uh, Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon. I'm guessing at your pay grade that they don't tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose."

"I'm going to reach down your throat and rip out your lungs," she says with a glare. Dean leans forward, a challenge in his green eyes. He throws a right hook at her, which she takes. He throws another, she still doesn't do anything but glare at them, looking more and more nervous.

"That's what I thought. Let's go, Sam, Danny," Dean says smugly. They stand, and the demon sits there, silently fuming. Dean pulls out a roll of cash from his pocket and carefully peels off a ten dollar bill. He holds it up and drops on the table like an insult. "For the pie and the shake." Sam, Danielle and Dean stalked out if the diner and across the street, tense and quick.

"Holy crap, that was close,' whispered Danielle

"We're not just going to leave them in there, are we, Dean?" Sam asked.

"Well yeah, there's three of them, probably more, and we've only got one knife between us."

"I've been killing a lot more demons than that lately."

"Not anymore – the smarter brother's back in town." After a pointed look from Danielle, Dean added, "And of course the brilliant Danielle Singer." She rolled her eyes at him and continued walking.

"Dean, we've got to take 'em. They are dangerous," said Sam

"They're scared. Okay? Scared of whatever had the juice to yank me out. We're dealing with a bad mofo here. One job at a time."

Back at Astoria Motel Dean is dozing on the couch with a large book open in his lap. Sam watches as Danielle, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed with a book on her lap, falls backwards with a light thump, asleep. Glancing around, Sam sneaks out, checking to make sure Dean and Danielle don't wake. One the door shuts, Danielle sits up, a frown on her face, sets the book aside and walks to the window. Sam leaves the motel, heading directly for the impala, he gets in, and drives away. If only Sam had glance back, he would have seen her watching him. Danielle lets down the curtain and turns to grab her coat and her set of keys, planning to go after him.

The television flicks on to the now-familiar static, and the radio starts whining as well. It freezes Danielle in place and wakes Dean up. Dean rubs the sleep out of his eyes and rolls quickly to grab the shotguns lying by the bed, and tosses one to Danielle. They look around cautiously, moving to stand back to back. Dean glances at Sam's bed and sees that it is empty. He grimaces, then ask the question on his mind.

"Danny, where's Sam?"

Shaking her head, the strawberry blonde replies, "I don't know, he left and I planning on following him. Until everything started to get crazy here." The painfully high-pitched noise begins again, Dean grabs his right ear, keeping the weapon up in his left hand as Danielle winces. A mirror on the ceiling shatters and rains broken glass down on them. Danielle crumples, shotgun right in front of her, hands on her ears trying to block at the noise. Shortly after Dean follows her example, no longer able to bear it. Suddenly, all the glass in the explodes as the duo let lose of the scream crawling up their throats. Bobby burst into the room as more glass shatters. Seeing Danielle on the floor, he immediately goes to help her up. Bobby pulls Dean up with his other hands and drags them out of the room, heading down the stairs and towards his car,.

Bobby drives his car, Danielle in the passenger seat next to him, and Dean in the backseat wiping blood from his face. "How you doin' kids?" he ask, glancing at Danielle, then Dean through the mirror.

"Aside from the church bells ringing in my head, peachy," said Danielle, resting her head on the window. Dean nods his agreement, then pulls out his cellphone and dials Sam's number.

At Johnny Mac's Diner, a cellphone rings in the impala. Sam glances at the phone, sees the caller ID, and answers it. "Hey."

_"What are you doing?"_ ask Dean.

"Couldn't sleep, went to get a burger."

_"In my car?" _Dean asked incredulously.

Wincing Sam says, "Force of habit, sorry. What are you doing up?"

"Well, uh, Bobby's back. Him, Danny, and I are going to get a beer." At the shocked looks coming from both Singers, Dean holds p a finger.

_"All right, well, uh, spill some for me, huh?"_

"Done. Catch you later," Dean answers, then hangs up.

"Why the hell didn't you tell him?" Bobby asked.

"Because he just tried to stop us."

"From what?"

"Summoning this thing." Bobby looks at Dean shocked, again, Danielle lets out a groan.

"It's time we faced it head-on."

"You can't be serious!" shouted Bobby as Danielle said, "Do we have to do it now?"

Deciding to ignore Danielle's question, Dean answers Bobby. "As a heart attack. It's high noon, baby."

"Well, we don't know what it is. It could be a demon, it could be anything."

"That's why we've got to be ready for anything." Dean pulls out Ruby's demon-killing knife. "We've got the big-time magic knife, you've got an arsenal in the trunk..."

"This is a bad idea."

"It's better than nothing," Danielle said, turning in her seat to face both males.

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have?" Dean asked.

"We could choose life," Bobby says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Bobby, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me. That much we know, right? I've got no place to hide. I can either get caught with my pants down again, or we can make our stand."

"Dean, we could use Sam on this."

Shaking his head, Dean says, "Nah, he's better off where he is."

Bobby and Danielle draw symbols with white spray paint on the cement floor, having already done the rest of the building. Every inch of the building, ceiling included, is covered in different symbols. Dean, setting up equipment at ta table in the middle of the warehouse, glancing at the one Bobby and Danielle had just finished, gives a smile.

"That's a hell of an art project you've got going there."

"Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe. How you doin?"

"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife. I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of."

"Good," Danielle says, staring at her handiwork, checking for any holes or missed spots.

"This is still a bad idea," states Bobby.

"Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times. What do you say we ring the dinner bell?" Dean says rolling his eyes. Bobby nods reluctantly. He goes over to another desk, takes a pinch of some powder from a bowl, and sprinkles it into a larger bowl, which begins to smoke. He chants in Latin.

What feels like hours later, but no more then minutes, finds the trio alone. Danielle, Dean and Bobby are seated on the tables, in that order, swinging their legs looking extremely bored.

"You sure you did the ritual right?" ask Dean. Bobby gives him his bitch, earning a small snicker from Danielle, having been on the receiving end of said look to many times to count. "Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?" As if on cue, a loud rattling shakes the roof. The trio shot to their feet, arming themselves with shotguns and take positions at the far end of the warehouse. "Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind."

Danielle snorts, and says, "Yeah, 'cause you know, we're that lucky." The door bursts open and a handsome man in a business suit and trench coat stalks in. The man looked taller than Danielle, but shorter then Dean. The light bulbs over head shatter in a shower of sparks as he passes them. Dean and Bobby both open fire, the shots don't even slow him down. Dean takes out the knife as the man gets closer to them.

"Who are you?" Dean ask.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," the man replied. Danielle lowers her unused gun and cocks her head to the side, curious about his wording.

"Yeah. Thanks for that." Dean rears back and plunges the knife into the man's chest. He looks down, unconcerned, and pulls it, then drops it to the floor. Bobby attacks; without looking the man grabs Bobby's weapon and uses it to turn him around. He touches Bobby on the forehead with his fingertips and Bobby crumples to the ground. Seeing this, years of training kick in for Danielle. Without even a thought, the hung is back, aimed, and fired. Dean lowers the gun and steps in front of Danielle as the man takes a step towards her.

Staring at her, he says, "We need to talk, Dean. Alone." Glancing back at Danielle, then Bobby, Dean shakes his head.

"Sorry, but that's not happening." The man took another step forward, Dean stepped back, forcing Danielle to step back. "Touch her and I won't listen. At all."

"Your friend's alive," the man says, not backing off, but not moving forward.

"Who are you?" Danielle ask, peeking around Dean's shoulder. His gaze moved from Dean back to her, and Danielle couldn't help but think he had really pretty blue eyes.

"Castiel."

Rolling her eyes, she says, "Yeah, I figured that much, I mean what are you?"

"I'm an Angel of the Lord."

"Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing," replied Dean.

"This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith." Lightning flashes, on Castiel's back, great shadowy wings appear, stretching off into the distance. Dispite the situation, the corner of Danielle's lips twitch, wanting to smile.

"Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman's eyes."

"I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be," Castiel paused, looking regretful. "Overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that."

"You mean the gas station and the motel. That was you talking?" Castiel nods his head. "Buddy, next time, lower the volume."

"That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong."

"And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?" This comment earned a quite chuckle from Danielle. Deab flashed her a cheeky smile, then become serious when Castiel spoke up.

"This? This is... a vessel."

"You're possessing some poor bastard?"

"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this."

"Someone actually prayed to be possessed?" Looking at the ground, eyebrows furrowed, Danielle muttered, "And I thought _I_ had problems." A smile playing on his lips, Dean nudged Danielle with his elbow, bringing her attention back to the conversation.

"Well, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really?"

Frowning, Castiel said, "I told you." Seeing his frown gave Danielle's chest an odd squeeze. She decided to ignore it for now, and think about it later.

"Right. And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?" Dean said, not believing Castiel at all.

"Good things do happen, Dean."

"Not in my experience," Dean said shaking his head.

"What's the matter? You don't think you deserve to be saved?" Castiel asked, wondering why Dean was refusing to believe him. He glanced to the only girl in the room, seeing in her green eyes that she believed, at least a little bit.

"Why'd you do it?" Dean demanded.

"Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you." Sneaking out from behind Dean, Danielle stood in front of him.

"So let me get this straight, you rescued Dean from Hell, because God told you to?" At the moment, Danielle didn't know whether she was mocking Castiel, thinking he was crazy, or thinking she was crazy. Danielle Singer believed in a lot of things, angels, demons, and other things that go bump in the night, no problem, but God. That's where she started to disbelieve, in her personnel experience, with years of hunting to back it up, there were no signs he existed.


End file.
